Films & Schedules
- H

HEART BREAKS OPEN

DIRECTOR: BILLIE RAIN - WASHINGTON (SEATTLE)

(NAR) A model queer activist and poet, Jesus (Maximillian Davis) prides himself in his work with the Seattle LGBT community. At the same time, Jesus is having unprotected sex and cheating on his long-time partner Johnny (Samonte Cruz). Jesus’ world implodes when he discovers that he is HIV positive, forcing him to confront his innermost fears, his relationship with his ex-boyfriend, and a future living with HIV. Faced with the unknown, Jesus is pulled from the brink of self-destruction by Sister Alysa Trailer (Brian Peters), a drag nun who leads him down a path of self-discovery. “A triumph for the...

(NAR) A model queer activist and poet, Jesus (Maximillian Davis) prides himself in his work with the Seattle LGBT community. At the same time, Jesus is having unprotected sex and cheating on his long-time partner Johnny (Samonte Cruz). Jesus’ world implodes when he discovers that he is HIV positive, forcing him to confront his innermost fears, his relationship with his ex-boyfriend, and a future living with HIV. Faced with the unknown, Jesus is pulled from the brink of self-destruction by Sister Alysa Trailer (Brian Peters), a drag nun who leads him down a path of self-discovery. “A triumph for the LGBT community as it combines prevailing elements of responsibility, intervention, accountability, and heartbreak with an underlying but indubitable message of love.”—Los Angeles Asian Film Festival (81 mins.)

PRECEDED BY

AUSTIN UNBOUNDDIRECTORS: ELIZA GREENWOOD, SELENA STALEY / PORTLAND, OR(DOC) From the age of three, Austin knew that his female anatomy did not fit him. In middle school, he changed his name and began to dress as a boy. Today, Austin identifies as a straight man and a member of the Portland queer ASL community. AUSTIN UNBOUND documents this deaf man’s choice to get a double mastectomy, following his journey from Portland to San Francisco for the surgery, his life in his local queer ASL community, and his interactions with family members. (43 mins.)

HOW THE FIRE FELL

DIRECTOR: E.P. DAVEE - OREGON (PORTLAND)

(NAR) “Joe Haege (31 Knots frontman and part-time Menomena member) stars as preacher Edmund Creffield in Davee’s ambitious debut feature about the turn-of-the-20th-century Corvallis-based cult Bride of Christ Church. Shot on Super-16mm film for a mere $50,000, HOW THE FIRE FELL nails the necessary subtleties of period detail—it never feels like Davee rallied his buddies for a weekend of dress-up—and sustains a vibe of creeping dread throughout, thanks in large part to Scott Ballard’s crepuscular black-and-white photography and a plangent score by Haege and John Askew that recalls the apocalypse aperitifs of A Silver Mt. Zion.”—Willlamette Week

(NAR) “Joe Haege (31 Knots frontman and part-time Menomena member) stars as preacher Edmund Creffield in Davee’s ambitious debut feature about the turn-of-the-20th-century Corvallis-based cult Bride of Christ Church. Shot on Super-16mm film for a mere $50,000, HOW THE FIRE FELL nails the necessary subtleties of period detail—it never feels like Davee rallied his buddies for a weekend of dress-up—and sustains a vibe of creeping dread throughout, thanks in large part to Scott Ballard’s crepuscular black-and-white photography and a plangent score by Haege and John Askew that recalls the apocalypse aperitifs of A Silver Mt. Zion.”—Willlamette Week

HOW TO DIE IN OREGON

DIRECTOR: PETER D. RICHARDSON - OREGON (PORTLAND)

(DOC) “In 1994, Oregon became the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. As a result, any individual whom two physicians diagnose as having less than six months to live can lawfully request a fatal dose of barbiturate to end his or her life. Since 1994, more than 500 Oregonians have taken their mortality into their own hands. Richardson gently enters the lives of the terminally ill as they consider whether—and when—to end their lives by lethal overdose, examining both sides of this complex, emotionally charged issue. What emerges is a life-affirming, staggeringly powerful portrait of what it means to die...

(DOC) “In 1994, Oregon became the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. As a result, any individual whom two physicians diagnose as having less than six months to live can lawfully request a fatal dose of barbiturate to end his or her life. Since 1994, more than 500 Oregonians have taken their mortality into their own hands. Richardson gently enters the lives of the terminally ill as they consider whether—and when—to end their lives by lethal overdose, examining both sides of this complex, emotionally charged issue. What emerges is a life-affirming, staggeringly powerful portrait of what it means to die with dignity.”—Sundance Film Festival